


Floating With the Sunset

by Listenerofshadows



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Nothing Explicit But Stay Safe My Lovelies!, self deprecation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 13:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17468669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listenerofshadows/pseuds/Listenerofshadows
Summary: “The sunset is lovely this evening, don’t you think?”He lifted his head towards the stranger. Normally he’d make a not-so-subtle attempt to wipe away the tears on his splotchy face but well….he didn’t care at the moment.“Yes, I do think it really is quite extraordinary today,” The stranger continued as if Virgil had answered him, “Look at that blending of orangey purple--beautiful!”“It’s just a sunset,” Virgil scowled, “haven’t you seen one around?”





	Floating With the Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Sunset by Lonnie Liston Smith where that is literally...the only lyric in it. It's a very calm, relaxing song. This started off as a vent fic but within the first hundred words became something else entirely, heh.

“The sunset is lovely this evening, don’t you think?”

He lifted his head towards the stranger. Normally he’d make a not-so-subtle attempt to wipe away the tears on his splotchy face but well….he didn’t care at the moment. 

“Yes, I do think it really is quite extraordinary today,” The stranger continued as if Virgil had answered him, “Look at that blending of orangey purple--beautiful!”

“It’s just a sunset,” Virgil scowled, “haven’t you seen one around?”

It was hard not to write the stranger off as some weirdo. I mean, really, who goes prancing about dressed like a prince? He wore all-white satin tunic and pants, with gold embellishments and a bright red sash. Firmly ironed, not a speck out of sight. His hair was perfectly styled and he flashed a set of white teeth towards Virgil. He was atrociously perfect. It disgusted him.

Last he checked, there wasn’t a comic con anywhere near here. Why was he talking to Virgil? Did he assume he was some sort of damsel in distress?

He wouldn’t admit it, but he might be misplacing some of his anger onto the stranger. It was hard for him not to.

“Ah yes!” The stranger hummed, plopping down beside Virgil, “but every sunset is different--and I haven’t seen this one yet!”

He pulled out his phone and started flipping through images, “See? This one is from last October. And here! From just last week. Of course, photos can never do their beauty justice.”

“Your point?” Virgil said, looking much like a hackled cat with the way his back arched.

The stranger simply smiled.

“My point is each of them is more beautiful than the last,” He said, “and you’ll never get to see the most beautiful sunset you’d ever seen unless you’re there to see it.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed. What a self-righteous prick. Just because Virgil happened to be sitting on the edge of a rooftop, didn’t mean he’d--he’d--

“I’m not suicidal.” He spat, his voice cracking.

“Who said you were?” The stranger asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I was talking about sunsets.”

The two sat in contemplative silence. The stranger took a few pictures of the sun hovering barely above the buildings. Virgil remained still, his chest rising up and down the only indication he was still alive.

“Why do you look like a fricking Disney prince?” Virgil blurted out, regretting at once the way the other’s gaze focused on him again.

“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment!” The stranger beamed, holding a hand against his chest, “I’ve always wanted to be a Disney prince--so I’d thought I’d dress the part!”

Virgil gave a blank stare. Was this guy for real? 

“So do you dress like that all the time?”

“No, no not all the time.” The stranger hummed a snatch of A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, “Only when I am feeling bittery, jittery, and not very glittery...”

“Like...today?”

The stranger hesitated, before giving a nod. Virgil’s mouth went dry because, shit--what could he say? He was never been good at words. He got them all jumbled up until it was like trying to unknot a knot to decipher the meaning. Not to mention, how could he comfort someone about the very thing he was struggling with? Saying it was gonna be okay seemed hypocritical when he himself didn’t believe it.

“I know it is...silly, but dressing like this--like a prince helps me feel better. Like I am really a strong, dashing prince here to save the day.” The stranger chuckled, but there was no humor in it. It was hollow and brittle.

As Virgil looked at him a second time, he saw him in a new light. He saw the dark circles underneath those warm, tired brown eyes, barely hidden by concealer. Virgil saw how his posture was too rigid, too  _ stiff _ . Virgil saw himself in the stranger.

“If you really were a prince,” Virgil began, unsure himself of where he was going with this question, “...would you save a damsel in distress from the monster keeping them, no--no matter how horrifying?”

“Of course!” The stranger exclaimed, brightening a bit at the question, “why, I’d fight even dragon witches and manticore chimeras! Nasty things mind you. I’d use my sword and with a  _ swish _ and a  _ slash _ , poof! They’d be no more.”

Virgil let out a snort at the man’s hand gestures that accompanied his explanation despite himself. The stranger was growing on him, as eccentric as he was.  He bit his lips, glancing towards the ever-vanishing sun in the horizon. He’d never paid much attention to sunsets. He usually spent his days holed up inside. Was what the stranger said really true about sunsets? Was each day’s sunset more beautiful than the last?

“What if the damsel in distress was the monster themselves?” He whispered, “Would you--would you fight them even then?”

The stranger’s face shifted to a more serious expression.

“Yes,” He vowed, “even then.”

“How? How would I--I mean how would you fight them?”

Virgil closed his eyes, unable to see the stranger’s reaction. A warmth settled over him, like a heavy blanket. It swaddled him, tightening its’ hold on him. His cheek brushed against something, and his eyelids fluttered open just enough to see red surrounded by white. Princey dude was...hugging him?

Normally Virgil despised strangers hugging or touching him in any way. He was self conscious in making sure he didn’t accidentally brush up against someone in a crowded area. But there was something so comforting about the other’s hug, that caused Virgil to feel safe and secure. He hadn’t been held like this in such a long time. A sob caught halfway through his throat.

“I’d fight them,” the Prince whispered, “like this.”

With those five words, Virgil’s dam finally burst. He sobbed freely, rather than trying to stifle it. He was getting snot and tears on the other’s outfit, he was ruining it. He tried apologizing, but the prince refused to accept it. He murmured reassuring words, maintaining his strong hold on Virgil. Who held onto him just as firm.

The sun dipped behind the horizon at last. Nighttime was upon them, the darkness here to torment them. But if one thing was certain, the sun would rose to set once more, and both of them would be there to greet it.


End file.
